The Goalie Coach
by Lamminator
Summary: Rating may go up in some chapters for language. Title explains it all, though the pairing isn't what you think. I'll leave that up to you to guess...for now. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out in a few chapter, though.
1. Inspecting the Troops

**A/N: **_This is my first 'Miracle' fict. I've been thinking about writing one for a while...I was like I love hockey and I love this movie, so why not write a fict? So I did...just don't expect this to be reguarly updated; there's A LOT of information I have to sort through. I want this to be as accurate as possible._

_(Side note: Warren Strelow was the goalie coach for the 1980 USA Hockey team, but he wasn't in the movie, and when thinking about this fict, I was thinking more along the lines of the movie...I just wanted to make that clear, so I don't get anyone telling me otherwise. K? Thanks.)_

* * *

It was a relatively cool day for mid-July in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

Terri Jacobs pulled up into the arena's parking lot and parked her rental car. (Yes, 'her'.) Stepping out of the car, she could feel her heart beat even faster and she could feel her hands start to clam up. She walked towards the arena, ignoring the glances she knew were directed at her.

Terri opened the main doors and entered the arena, trying not to attract too much attention to herself; she was very shy around new people...especially guys.

It was getting towards the end of the check-in time for the players, so there weren't many of them wandering around the lobby of the ice arena.

She glanced around the lobby, looking for someone who could point her in the right direction. Seeing an older man holding a camera, after just having taken a player's profile picture, she approached him slowly...even if he looked like he should be coaching baseball instead of being involved in hockey.

'Excuse me.' She said tentatively.

'Yeah, can I help you?' The man raised an eyebrow at her.

'I'm looking for Coach Brooks. Could you tell me where he is?' She asked, looking around her.

'Try looking in the stands around the rink.' He replied, pointing down a hallway.

'Thanks.' Terri mumbled, then walked swiftly down the hall that the man had pointed out.

She walked down the short hallway, which opened up to the corner of the stands of the arena. Terri glanced around, taking in her surroundings before walking down the closest set of stairs to ice level. Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, a few of the potential Olympians started out on the ice. She crossed her arms over her chest and watched as they warmed up and stretched.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man approach her.

'Excuse me, miss. Are you lost?' He asked her.

Terri turned her head to look at the man. He was tall and lanky, wearing a dark blue suit with a royal blue tie. He also wore glasses and was balding.

'I might be.' She grinned slightly, turning her head towards him. 'I'm looking for Coach Brooks. Is he around?' She asked, looking back out to the ice.

'He's up in the press box.' The man pointed to the far end of the arena and up to where the box was.

'Thanks.' Terri mumbled again, then looked back to the man. 'Uh, how do I get up there?' She asked shyly, blushing a little, but that was hard to tell since her cheeks were naturally very pink.

After receiving general directions from the man, she left the stands and headed up to the press box, where she had seen Herb Brooks looking down at the sheet of ice.

On the way to the box, Terri had to cross the hallway that led down to the locker rooms. She looked down the hallway one way so she wouldn't get trampled by a rushing player, but didn't look the other way before stepping out. After one step, she collided with a hockey bag, slung over the shoulder of a last-minute player.

'Sorry.' She mumbled, after letting out an _oof,_ and taking the same step back.

'That's okay. You all right?' the short player asked.

'Yeah, I'm used to it. You better hurry. There are guys already on the ice.' She said, looking down the hall, avoiding looking at the guy.

'That's no problem.' He said with a small grin. 'I'm Buzz Schneider, by the way. Or Buzzy.' He said, shifting his hockey bag on his shoulder and moving his stick from his right hand to his left, and holding out his hand.

Terri looked at the guy who was almost the same height has herself, saw his smile, then went to shake his hand, subtly wiping her hand on her pants (to try to rid the clamminess) before bringing said hand up to shake his.

'Hi, Buzzy. I'm Terri.' She said, grinning at him, shaking his hand. 'I've...got to get...going.' She stumbled. 'Good luck.'

'Thanks.' He replied, and continued on down to the locker rooms.

Terri looked both ways down the hall again, made her way across, and continued her own path up to the press box.

Upon reaching the stairs up to the box, she glanced up, and took a very deep breath, closing her eyes as she did so. She could feel her hands clam up again, her body start to shake slightly from nerves, and her heart beat quicker in anticipation.

Opening her eyes, she slowly ascended the stairs up to the press box. The door was open and she saw Herb Brooks sitting in one of the chairs, already taking notes. She wasn't sure how to get his attention, so she knocked on the doorframe lightly.

Herb turned in his seat and looked over his glasses towards the door. A young woman was standing there, looking hesitant.

'Can I help you?' He asked her; curious as to why she was here.

'Coach Brooks? I'm Terri Jacobs.' She answered with a shy smile. 'I'm your goalie coach.'

'Terri Jacobs?' He questioned, obviously in surprise.

Terri nodded and walked into the room as Herb stood from his chair.

'I'm sorry.' Herb said, shaking his head slightly. 'I was just expecting...'

'A man? Yeah, I get that a lot.' Terri finished for him, grinning.

Herb held out his hand, and Terri shook it confidently...she was feeling more confident the longer she was around the arena.

'Well, uh, have a seat until all the boys come out.' Herb said, indicating the chair next to the one he sat back down in.

Again, Terri nodded, and took the seat indicated. She put her elbows on the table and stared down at the ice.

'So, how'd you get into coaching goalies? You seem a bit young.' Herb asked, breaking the silence.

Terri grinned. 'My brothers were goalies. My dad was a goalie back in his youth, too, so I guess it runs in the family.' She laughed. 'My dad coached my brothers up through high school, then they went off to college. Since I couldn't play once I got to high school, I quit playing and followed my dad's footsteps, becoming a coach.' She paused for a moment, seeing a goalie skate out onto the ice. 'I may be young, but I know what I'm doing.' She looked back over at Herb, straight-faced.

'I know that much. I wouldn't have hired you if you didn't.' He said with a half-grin.

Terri nodded, understanding.

'Mind if I go down to ice level to check out these goalies? See what I have to work with?' She smirked.

'Absolutely. Come back about ten minutes before they leave the ice. Let me know what you think.' Herb instructed.

'No problem, Coach.' She responded.

'I'm not your coach, Terri. You can call me Herb.' He replied as Terri stood from her chair.

'Right. Sorry.' Her cheeks turned pinker. 'It's just a seniority thing, I guess.'

Herb nodded, then turned back look down to the ice. Terri took that as her cue to leave.

Walking back down the stairs, she let out another sigh. This one was of relief. Herb definitely didn't live up to the stories Terri had heard about him.

Terri retraced her steps back down to ice level, being careful not to run into anyone, again. When she reached the ice, she grinned to herself, then walked around in the stands to sit behind one of the nets. There were four goalies: two at each end.

After the boys had warmed-up and stretched, they gathered at center ice around the guy who was running the try-outs. He explained the drills they were going to do at each end of the ice. At the end of the ice Terri was at, there was a simple shooting drill where the players would line up in a semi-circle and shoot rapid fire at the goalie. At the other end, they were doing some pass and shoot drills.

Terri watched the goalies as each of them went through the drill. The second one to go (number twenty-six) was pretty good. He only missed two on his stick side and one on his glove side, but if he made the team, that would be easy to fix. When he slid his mask to the back of his head to take a drink, Terri tilted her head to the side slightly. He looked familiar, but couldn't put a name to the face. Once the two goalies at that end went through the drill again, she headed down to the other end to check on the remaining two.

As she slowly walked around the rink, she was approached by another man. He was wearing a striped gray-blue suit with a light blue shirt. He had blue eyes, bushy eyebrows, was balding, and slightly round in structure.

'I'm sorry, miss. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. No spectators.' He said to her.

Terri looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Obviously, he didn't know who she was.

'I'm not a spectator.' She said, turning towards him. 'I'm the goalie coach.'

'Oh, okay.' He said, skeptically. 'I'm Walter Bush, executive director of the USOC.' He extended his hand to her.

'Terri Jacobs. Yes, I'm a woman and yes, I know what I'm doing.' She said before he asked her any more questions, shaking his hand.

She was feeling even more bold and confident.

'Okay, then. I'll let you get back to...whatever it was you were doing.' Walter said.

'You too.' Terri mumbled, then both turned and walked in opposite directions.

'Great. There's going to be a lot of talk now.' Terri mumbled to herself as she took a seat behind the net.

She sighed as she watched these two goalies deflect and save pucks. The drill they were doing was a breakout drill. The players started in two lines in the corners, then skated up to the blue line, where they received a puck from the opposite corner they came out of. They then skated in on the goalie, attempting to score.

Terri had her knees drawn up so she could rest her elbows on her knees while holding her head in her hands. She kept her trained eyes on the goalies, watching their every move. The first goalie (number fourteen) seemed pretty good as well, even though he seemed a little unsure of himself at times...that could also be taken care of.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Well, what do you think? Is it a good start? Lemme know what you think, please. I'd appreciate it._


	2. Making the Cut

**A/N: **_So I forgot to say this in the first chapter: I own nothing except Terri and any of her family members that might show up a lot later. They're mine. And something else I thought I'd ad: I go a little 'canon'...what can I say? That's how I roll; cause when I'm watching a movie, I put a character in there, thinking what they would do and all that good stuff. Don't like it? I'm not forcing you to read. Yet..._

* * *

When the guys running the try-out started doing some full ice drills, then scrimmage, Terri stood, and headed back up to the press box. 

Walking up the stairs to the box, Terri heard voices. One was distinctly Herb, the other she didn't know.

'Hey, Herb, I just wanted to let you know how much I'm looking forward to being able to coach with you.' The unknown man said.

'You were one hell of a player, Craig. And you're gonna make one hell of a coach.' Herb said.

Terri was a few steps away from the top of the stairs, when she tripped on the next step. She slammed her hands down on the steps so she wouldn't smash her face on the wood.

'Jeez.' She mumbled, regaining her footing.

'You all right?' It was Herb.

Terri looked up and saw him standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at her.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Just a klutz.' She answered, standing upright, wiping her hands on her pants, and continuing up the stairs.

Herb went back into the box, and Terri followed shortly after, where she paused just inside the door. The other man was sitting in the chair next to Herb's; he had one arm over the back, looking towards Terri.

'Craig, meet Terri Jacobs. Our goalie coach.' Herb said to Craig, motioning to Terri. 'Terri, this is Craig Patrick. My assistant coach.' He repeated the gestures, just towards Craig.

Craig held out his hand to Terri. She shook it with her shy smile on her lips. When they released hands, Terri moved back to lean against the wall next to the door, her arms crossed over her chest as she continued to watch the goalies from the box.

'How do they look, Terri?' Herb asked, sitting back down in the chair, looking over some profiles.

'There were two goalies that stuck out in my mind the most, but all of them are fairly good.' She answered, still staring down at the ice. 'And the rest of them look all right, too.'

Herb nodded, then looked back at the table.

'I'm gonna need you two to stick tight to these kids. If there's any big problems, you let me know of it.' Herb continued, looking between Craig and Terri. 'Otherwise, you take care of it, okay?'

Terri nodded a little absently, but she heard every word.

'Okay.' Craig answered.

They all looked down at the ice for a few moments before Herb handed Craig a piece of paper.

'Take a look at that.' He said to Craig.

'What's this?' Craig asked.

'Twenty-six names.' Herb answered, taking a drink of his coffee. 'The tough part will be making it down to twenty before opening ceremonies.' He stood from the chair and moved to the far side of the box, looking over more papers.

Terri looked from Craig to Herb with a confused look on her face.

'This is the final roster?' Craig asked, just as confused.

Herb didn't answer.

'You're kidding right?'

Still no answer.

'Herb, this is our first day. We have a week of this.' Craig motioned down to the ice. 'What about the advisory staff? Aren't they supposed to have a say in this?'

'Technically, I guess. I don't know.' Herb answered.

Terri, though still a little confused, tried to hold back a grin.

'Well, you're missing some of the best players.' Craig went on.

'I'm not looking for the best players, Craig. I'm looking for the right ones.' Herb defended.

Terri glanced at Craig. The look on his face was somewhere between still confused and angry.

'You have Jim Craig backing up Janaszak?' Craig asked, looking back down at the paper, then back up to Herb.

'Other way around.' Herb answered simply.

'Other way around?' Craig questioned, standing from his chair also.

Terri had heard the name 'Jim Craig' before. She zoned out to Herb and Craig's conversation as she silently moved to the table to try to find Jim Craig on the ice...or at least put a name with the face. She remembered her oldest brother talking about him when both of her brothers went to watch the 1976 National Championships. She had to give up wracking her brain when Herb called her name. She noticed that Craig was no longer in the box.

'Terri. Take these with you to ice level when you go down.' Herb pointed to a cardboard box full of stapled papers sitting on the table near him. 'Craig is going to collect the boys in the stands to announce who made the cut. Make sure all of the potentials get one.'

'You got it, Herb.' She replied, looking at the box of papers. They looked like tests. 'Oh, uh, Herb?'

He nodded absently, so she figured she should continue.

'What try-out numbers do Craig and Janaszak have?'

Herb looked across the table at a piece of paper, presumably with the names and numbers of each of the players trying out.

'Craig has twenty-six and Janaszak has fourteen. Why?' He asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

'Just checking.' She replied, then grinned as she looked back down to the ice, where the boys were leaving the ice. She turned, ready to head down to the ice. 'They were the one's I would have picked.'

Picking up the box of papers, Terri made her way back out of the press box, and carefully down the stairs, making sure not to fall or drop the box. She picked her way through the halls until she made it back to the stands, where she found a spot near the corner of the rink. Climbing the short set of cement stairs, she set the box of papers on the cement wall in front of the first row of seats. She then sat on the railing, in the corner. Terri was sitting there for a minute or two when Craig walked into the stands and spotted her.

He walked over to her followed by another man. The man was older and shorter than Craig; he wore thick, round glasses, and had very short, white hair. The two men walked over to her and up the few steps.

'Terri. This is Doc...er, George Nagobads, the team physician.' Craig introduced motioning from Terri to Doc. 'Doc, this is Terri Jacobs, our goalie coach.'

'Hi.' Terri said, shyly shaking Doc's hand.

'Hello, Terri.' He replied with an accent Terri couldn't quite place, but was too shy yet to ask him about it.

'Craig, Herb said that the potentials have to take one of those,' she pointed to the box of stapled papers, 'before leaving here.'

'He told me about them.' Craig replied.

Terri nodded, then pulled a small notepad and pen out of her back pocket.

Doc and Craig engaged in a conversation as the three of them waited for all the boys to fill in the stands.

While waiting, and while Craig and Doc were conversing, Terri opened her notepad to a blank page. She quickly sketched the layout of the ice including lines, circles, hash marks, and goals. Remembering what she witnessed with the two goalies Herb had picked, she drew out a few drills that could help both of them when she got to work with them during practices.

She didn't know how long she was creating drills, but after a while, Craig nudged her slightly with his elbow. When Terri looked up, she saw that the stands in front of her were full of the players who tried out.

'Whoa.' She mumbled under her breath, not realizing how many had tried out.

Terri closed her notepad and recapped her pen, sticking both back in her back pocket. She listened as Craig called out the twenty-six names. A few of the names sounded familiar, but she didn't know them personally. She didn't have to know them to be able to tell who was who; she just had to look around and find the relieved face the name belonged to.

'And that's the roster for now.' Craig said after calling out the last name: Eruzione. 'The rest of you, thanks for coming out.'

Terri watched as the boys whose names didn't get called slowly got up from their seats and walked down the stairs to exit the arena. She then looked back at the remaining twenty-six; they were congratulating each other. Looking up further, she saw Herb at the top of the section. She hopped down from the railing, but leaned against it, shoving her hands in her pockets.

'Take a good look, gentlemen.' Herb started. The boys turned to look back at him. ''Cause they're the ones getting off easy.' He looked to where the others were leaving, then looked back at the remaining boys, and started to descend the stairs. 'I'm gonna put a few of you on reserve in case somebody gets injured or their game goes to hell. The final roster will have twenty names on it in seven months, so more of you are going home. You give ninety-nine percent, you'll make my job very, very easy. I'll be your coach. I won't be your friend. If you need one of those, take it up with Doc, Coach Patrick, or Coach Jacobs, here.' He reached the end of the stairs, then kept walking out of the stands.

Terri rose an eyebrow as Doc, Craig, and her all exchanged looks. She looked a little apprehensive about befriending twenty-six, hormone driven males. They then looked back at the players.

'All right, gentlemen. Congratulations to all of you.' Craig started. Doc and Terri nodded...Terri with a very shy smile, looking at the ground. 'That's it for today. On your way out, pick up one of these.' He held up one of the stapled packets of papers. 'You have a little homework to do...before you celebrate.'

A bunch of the boys laughed at that.

'Thank you.' Craig said.

The boys stood and congratulated each other some more before descending the stairs and grabbing a stapled packet before leaving the arena.

One of the boys caught Terri's eye. He was towards the top of the stands in a blue track jacket. He was easy on the eyes (hell, most of these boys were) with his dark hair and eyes, and his smile was something else. Terri caught herself staring and shook her head, looking down at the cement wall in front of her until she got herself and thoughts collected.

When she looked back up, she glanced around before her eyes fell back to the one she was looking at moments earlier. Only when she looked at him, he looked back. Terri averted her eyes quickly, then looked next to her to Craig.

'So what now?' She asked, taking her hands out of her pockets, and jumping back up on the railing.

'You can do whatever you want.' He said. 'You're at the hotel near the airport, right?'

'Yeah.'

'You'll find out what's going on then. Everyone's there.'

'Ah, okay. I'll, uh, I'll see you around then.'

Terri then swung around on the railing and jumped down the three-foot drop to the floor of the arena, in front of the seats.

'Right.' Craig replied.

Terri started walking towards the exit of the arena, but she slowed when she took a glance at the ice. The zamboni hadn't been out to clean the ice and the nets were still in place. Terri grinned slowly, then ran out of the stands, out of the arena, and to her car. She fumbled getting her keys out of her pocket as she ran, then went around to the trunk of her rental car. Finding the right key, she popped the trunk, and pulled out her stick, skates, hockey gloves, and a few pucks.

Someone once asked her why she carried her own pucks. Her response: so she didn't have to worry about giving borrowed pucks back when the person she borrowed them from wanted to leave. With her pucks, she could come and go as she pleased.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Well, I kinda know how the boys who were cut felt like. I had a try-out a few weeks ago (not for something as big as the Olympics) and didn't make the team...damn 16 and 17 year olds were showing me up! But it was my last year that I could try out, so I thought 'what the hell?'. It's no big deal that I didn't make it, though._

_And I personally think I'm gonna like the next chapter..._


	3. Another Introduction

**A/N:**_WHEEE!!! My 21st birthday (Aug 12) is in less than half an hour, so I'm gifting myself another chapter! And I decided to share my gift with the world. Aren't I so cool?...nevermind, don't answer that. I'm probably not. Anywho, here ya go. Enjoy!_

_And I'm still in a hockey mode from last weekend, which is also why I'm posting. I had a tournament which was wicked fun (no pun intended since the name of my team is the Wicked)! We had the Zambonis (a hockey band) play during it and it was amazing! My team got fourth place, but hell, we were just there for the fun. __One more thing, then I'll let you read: this chapter is going to be blatantly obvious on the pairing I had in mind..._

* * *

Once she located and pulled her skates, stick, gloves, and pucks out of the trunk, she closed the trunk, and stuck her keys back in her pocket. She picked up her equipment and practically sprinted back into the arena. 

Back in the arena, she went down the hallway that led to the locker rooms; that hallway led out to the ice. She followed the hallway and when the cool air of ice level hit her face, she felt at home, calm.

Terri set her stick and pucks on the boards, then sat on the bench, setting her gloves next to her, to take off her shoes and put on her skates. Once her skates were laced up and tied, she hopped over the boards onto the ice. She grinned as she put her shoulder blade length, light brown hair up into a ponytail. After she put her gloves on, she picked up her stick, then sped off around the rink for a few laps. When she was warmed up, she went back over to the bench and knocked her pucks off of the boards onto the ice.

She took her five pucks to the top of the circles at the far end of the rink, near the zamboni doors. Lining up the pucks, she shot one after the other at the net; the first round, she shot wrist shots, the next round, she did the same only a little harder. The third round, Terri practiced her slap shots. She hadn't taken slap shots for a long time, so she didn't hit the net every time...but what human can be accurate one hundred percent of the time?

She took another round of slap shots, then, after recollecting the pucks for a fourth time, she took all of her pucks to center ice, gathering them in a group at the face-off dot.

Pushing one of the pucks out further than the others, Terri skated back and forth behind it a few times at the edge of the circle before taking a crossover start to pick up speed. She picked up the puck on her way and skated hard towards the net. When she got to the hash marks, she took a slap shot, sending the puck into the back of the net with some force. Grinning, she turned at the bottom of the right circle and headed back to center ice for another puck.

Mike "Rizzo" Eruzione walked out of the locker room after grabbing his hockey bag. He and a bunch of his new teammates decided to go to the bar that was a few blocks away from their hotel. He was about to head out to his rental car to meet up with Dave "Silky" Silk and Jack "OC" O'Callahan when he heard someone out on the ice taking shots. Setting his bag and sticks down in the hall, Rizzo walked out towards the ice to see who was there.

Upon reaching the end of the hall, where it opened up behind the bench, he saw the woman Coach Brooks introduced to the players as Coach Jacobs.

Sitting on the end of the bench, he watched her skate and shoot the pucks into the net for a few minutes since she had yet to notice that she wasn't alone. He came to the conclusion that she wasn't all that bad of a skater...for a coach.

He stood from the bench and leaned his elbows on the boards to watch her technique.

Terri was in her own world as she continued to skate and shoot pucks. She carried the last puck in her pile down the ice, commentating in her head on her moves as she went. She carried the puck wide to the left of the net, then made a move to fake out an invisible defenseman. She stopped quickly, spun, and changed direction, skating on a slight angle to the right of the net. Moving the puck from as far to her right to as far to her left as she could, she made another move around an invisible defenseman. She then bent low, getting the puck on the toe of her stick, and lifted the puck. Carrying it a few strides, she then spun and tossed it into the far, upper corner of the net. Stopping abruptly, she smirked at the net, then went to retrieve her five pucks, hitting them up the ice to the general area of center ice.

As she skated up the bench side of the boards, she looked up, and almost tripped when she saw the player she was staring at earlier leaning over the boards, apparently watching her. She stopped where she was and just looked at him.

Rizzo took his elbows off the boards, seeing Coach Jacobs stop in her stride, and rested his hands on the boards instead.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.' He said, leaning slightly so he could still see her.

'Oh, uh...that's okay.' Teri replied, instantly recognizing his Boston accent, and skated slowly up the boards towards him.

Stopping where the Plexiglas ended, she leaned against it, resting her elbow on the top of her stick, and looking out at the ice.

'I'm Mike Eruzione.' He said, holding out his hand, and looking at Terri, grinning. 'Known as Rizzo most of the time.'

Terri turned her head to look at his hand, then up to his face, giving him her shy grin. 'Terri Jacobs.' She said, shaking his hand. 'Known as Terri most of the time.'

Rizzo laughed. 'I don't have to call you "Coach", do I?' He asked, a little shyly.

'Are you a goalie?' She retorted, softly.

'No.'

'Then, no. Just call me Terri.' She replied, grinning slightly.

'Wait. You're the goalie coach?' Rizzo asked, a confused look crossing his features momentarily.

Terri paused before answering. 'Yes. Why?' She eventually said, raising an eyebrow.

'You're...'

'Too young? A woman? I've heard it all before.'

And she was tired of hearing it all.

Sighing, Terri gripped her stick again, then pushed away from the Plexiglas and headed to where her pucks sat. She took one of the pucks and took a slap shot, as hard as she could, towards the net. She missed the net entirely, but didn't care.

'No. That's not what I meant.' She heard Rizzo say, defensively.

Terri glanced over at him, seeing him now standing behind the boards, no longer leaning on them.

'Then what did you mean?' she asked, softly, still standing at center ice, staring after her puck.

'You're a good skater. I wouldn't have thought you a _goalie_ coach. That's all.' He said just as softly.

Terri looked over at him briefly, feeling her cheeks turn pink slightly at the comment. 'Thanks.' She mumbled, looking at her skates.

They were silent for a few minutes. The only sound was Terri stick handling a puck around her feet.

Rizzo watched her stick handle before he remembered that Silky and OC were waiting for him in the hot parking lot. He shook his head, then cleared his throat awkwardly. Terri glanced over at him as she continued to stick handle.

'Uh, a bunch of us are going to get a few drinks at a bar near the hotel. If you want, you can come with us.' He said, shifting his feet, and looking at the top of the boards as he ran his fingers over it. 'You know, meet the team.' He added hastily.

Terri stopped her stick handling and watched Rizzo as he petted the boards. She grinned slightly before shooting the puck down the ice towards the net.

'Maybe a little later. I'd like to hit a few pucks around for a while. Don't know when I'll be able to do this again.' She replied quietly, looking after her puck, then glancing at Rizzo.

'We'll probably be there a while, working on those tests.' Rizzo replied, looking up at her.

Terri caught his eye and immediately looked away, back to the ice at her feet. She just nodded, then set up another puck near the face-off dot. Skating behind it, she waited until Rizzo left.

Rizzo cleared his throat again, softly. 'Well, uh, see you later then maybe.' He said, glancing up at the rafters of the arena.

'Maybe.' Terri replied, grinning softly.

Rizzo nodded, then hesitated before turning and heading back down the hallway to pick up his bag and sticks left near the locker room. Picking up his equipment, he quickly made his way out of the arena to the parking lot. Seeing Silky and OC standing next to the rental car with their equipment bags on the ground next to them along with their sticks, he inwardly cursed his curiosity. They were both leaning against the car, their arms crossed over their chests as they talked to one another.

'What took you so damn long?' OC asked, seeing Rizzo first and uncrossing his arms.

'Sorry, boys. I ran into the goalie coach.' Rizzo replied, lamely.

'Goalie coach? Was he even at the try-out?' OC continued to question.

'Yeah. _She_ was.' Rizzo answered, stressing "she".

'She? You mean that hot Coach Jacobs?' Silky put in.

'Yeah, her. Just leave her alone, Silky.' Rizzo paused before adding: 'She's not your type, anyway.' He took the keys to the car out of his pocket and opened the trunk.

Silky thought about that for a moment. 'Yeah, you're right. She's not the "damsel in distress" type if she's involved in hockey.'

'She probably has a right hook better than yours, too, Silky.' OC laughed, as he tossed his equipment bag into the trunk.

Rizzo laughed also as he too tossed his bag in the trunk. Silky gave both of them a sarcastic grin, then shoved his own bag into the trunk. The three of them had to squish their bags down in order to get the trunk closed. With much effort, they got the trunk closed, then picked up their sticks, laying them on the backseat. Silky was stuck in the back with the sticks since he was the smallest of the three. OC rode shotgun, and Rizzo drove. They headed back to the hotel to drop off their bags and sticks, so they could dry and air out their equipment, then walked the few blocks to the bar.

* * *

**A/N:**_ So, what did you think about the interaction? The chapter? I'd like to know how I'm doing...just keep it in good spirits. I bruise easily._


	4. Small Mental Struggles

**A/N:**_Hey! Look at this! An update! Who'd a thought. Anywho...enjoy! (and Happy Thanksgiving!)

* * *

_Back in the arena, Terri continued to skate behind the puck even after Rizzo left. She thought about his offer and was mentally struggling with herself on whether she wanted to go to the bar or not.

Shaking her head to clear it and not think on Rizzo or what to do after leaving the rink, she skated a figure eight around the face-off circles behind her, then skated full speed towards the puck. Picking it up, she carried the puck towards the net, swerving and doing crossovers to change direction quickly, before skating through the goal crease where she spun around while picking up the puck with the toe of her stick and tossed it into the net.

Terri stopped, then smirked as she collected the two pucks that went into the net, hitting them back up to center ice. She then went after the one that missed the net, which ended up stuck behind the netting. She hit the netting about halfway up with her stick to try to get the puck loose. When that didn't work, she tucked her left glove under her right arm, and bent to pick it up, tossing it to the ice. She put her glove back on and hit the puck up to join the others.

Just as she was about to skate back up to center ice, the zamboni doors, which were to her left (since she was standing behind the net), were opened and the owner of the arena stood in the opening.

'I'm going to have to ask you to leave the ice. Need to clean it.' He said, securing the doors open.

'Okay, no problem.' Terri answered. She started skating up to her pucks, when she turned and skated backwards. 'Would you like me to get the other net for you?' she asked, still skating.

'Sure, that'd be helpful.' The owner replied.

Terri nodded, then went to center ice to pick up her pucks. She took them over to the boards and tossed them onto the bench, along with her stick. Skating to the other end of the rink, she took the net off its metal posts that held it to the ice, then put the posts on top of the net. Turning the net around, she pushed it down the ice to lean against the boards where the owner placed the other net.

The owner thanked her for her help. With a small smile and a nod, she skated over to the boards, hopped over them, and unlaced her skates after she sat on the bench. When she put her shoes back on, she collected her skates, gloves, stick, and pucks, then headed back down the hallway that led to the locker rooms and out to the lobby.

Walking out of the arena and into the parking lot, Terri saw that the lot was practically empty now. Only a few cars remained. She walked over to her own car and opened the trunk, shoving her equipment in it. She then got in behind the wheel and picked up the map and directions on the seat next to her.

After reading over the directions to get from the arena to the hotel, she started the car, and started her drive to the hotel.

Minutes later, Terri pulled into the hotel parking lot and saw a bunch of guys walking in and out of the building; many carrying hockey and duffel bags out. After parking the car, she took her own duffel bag out of the back of her car, and headed towards the main entrance doors. As soon as she walked in, she headed over to the concierge to check in.

Once the concierge checked her in and gave her her room key, she headed to the stairs and climbed them up to the third floor. Walking down the hall, she noticed a few open doors and hockey players mulling around the floor, chatting, before many of them had to leave. She received many looks from the boys, but she just kept her eyes focused ahead of her and ignored all of them.

When she reached her room, she set her duffel bag on the ground to open the door. Once open, she stepped in, closing and locking the door behind her. Leaning against the door, she looked around. The room was small: one bed, one window, and a bathroom with a shower (no tub). Sighing, she tossed her duffel bag to the bed, then looked out of the window. Again, she saw more hockey players mulling about. Some of them even started a small street hockey game in an empty section of the parking lot. She grinned slowly as she watched them, then remembered Rizzo's offer; thinking more on it, she grinned even more, then took a clean shirt out of her duffel bag and went into the bathroom to freshen up.

Once she was finished in the bathroom, she picked up the key to her room, then headed out, locking the door behind her.

She quickly walked down the stairs and through the lobby of the hotel. After figuring that the bar was only a few blocks to the right of the hotel, she walked down the street, becoming even more nervous as she went. A few times, she thought about turning back and just forgetting about having a few drinks with the new team; she could have just stayed at the hotel, going into the hotel's bar to get a drink...or call room service.

Within minutes, she was standing outside of the bar, looking up at the bright sign, deciding whether to go in or not. Her feet seemed to have a mind of their own, though, and she ended up walking slowly into the bar.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Meh, sorry that wasn't all that entertaining. The next should be very interesting...and longer. And thanks for all the reviews so far. I love getting 'em._


	5. More Intros and Tests

**A/N:**_ Hello everyone! I know I disappeared there for a while, but a lot of stuff kept coming up: I just recently finished my finals for college (my last semester at community college! Yea! I know have an Associates degree in Communications!), I've had hockey tournaments left and right, I went to NM/TX for a weekend for a Bataan Memorial Death March (15.2 mile walk in the desert), and my team mate and good friend's brother was killed in a car accident on Easter, so I've been around for her._

_Now that I'm out of college and currently have no job, I should have updates more often (as long as hockey tournaments don't get in the way). Sorry to keep you waiting so long. Enjoy! Lemme know what you think, please._

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Terri paused shortly after walking in, surveying the establishment, before heading over to the end of the bar. There were quite a few people in the bar, mostly people around Terri's own age, trying to score with the opposite sex.

'What can I get ya?' The bartender asked her, rubbing down a pint glass as he walked over to her.

'A pint of beer, thanks.' She mumbled, looking past him.

'What kind of beer?'

'Whatever you have on tap.'

The bartender nodded, then walked over to the tap. When he walked back with Terri's beer, she slapped the money on the counter, and took a drink, while subtly glancing around the bar again.

She recognized a bunch of the players from the try-out sitting at a large table towards the back of the room; they were also easy to spot because a bunch of them were working on the tests Herb made them do. She then saw Rizzo, sitting at a smaller table across the room from the rest of the players, with three other guys. They were also working on their tests.

Looking down at the sticky bar under her glass, Terri took another drink of the alcohol. She thought of another play that she could run with the goalies, so she took the small notepad out of her back pocket, and sketched the play.

She was almost done sketching, when she felt someone walk up next to her, setting a pitcher on the bar.

'I thought you were going to be at the rink for a while.'

Terri grinned slightly, knowing exactly who it was.

'I would be there all night, but the owner wanted to clean the ice, so I kinda got kicked out.' She replied, turning her head slightly to glance at Rizzo.

He smiled a little at her comment as the bartender came over to him.

'Can I get this refilled?' Rizzo asked the tender, motioning to the empty pitcher.

'Sure.'

The bartender took the pitcher away to refill it.

'You wanna come sit with us?' Rizzo asked Terri, shyly, watching the bartender.

'Uh...' Terri stuttered, not sure if she really wanted to. 'Yeah, all right.' She muttered, figuring that she'd be spending the next seven months with them anyway.

Rizzo practically beamed when she accepted his offer to sit with them.

The bartender came back with Rizzo's pitcher, so he paid for the beverage, picked it up, and turned to Terri, nodding his head in the direction of the table.

Picking up her glass of beer, Terri shook her head slightly, grinning, then followed Rizzo over to the small table.

Upon reaching the table, the other three boys looked up. Standing at the head of the table with Rizzo, Terri took a long drink from her glass.

The boy to the left of the table, who seemed shorter than the others, looked her up and down. The one at the other end of the table slowly grinned as he let his eyes wander to her chest.

The eye gestures from both of them made Terri feel very vulnerable and made her want to leave the bar.

The last boy, to the right of the table, smiled at her, making up for the uncomfortable situation the other two put her in.

Lowering the glass from her mouth, Rizzo began his introductions.

'All right boys, this is Terri, the goalie coach.' He started.

'Hi.' Terri mumbled to the guys with her shy smile.

'Terri, this is Dave Silk or Silky.' Rizzo pointed to the boy on the left. 'That is Jack O'Callahan or OC.' He pointed to the one at the other end of the table, who now had his arms crossed over his chest and was looking smug. 'And this is Ralph Cox. Coxie.' He motioned to the last boy, on the right. 'Have a seat.' He motioned to the chair next to Coxie. Rizzo retook his seat next to Silky.

Terri sank down into the seat next to Coxie, sitting on the far side of the chair, not being too comfortable with the new boys at the moment.

'Goalie coach, huh? How'd you get into that?' OC asked, reaching forward for his glass of beer.

'My dad, actually.' Terri answered shortly.

'You wanna elaborate on that?'

Terri glanced at him. 'No, not particularly.' She grinned shortly as she brought her own glass up to her lips.

Rizzo chuckled into his glass as OC made a _humph_ sound, then leaned back in his chair. Silky smirked at her.

'Are you even old enough to drink?' OC asked again.

Terri set her glass back down on the table as she squinted her eyes at him for a moment. She could feel the other eyes of the other three on her.

She was feeling bold, again.

'Are you?' she retorted, resting her elbows on the table. 'Are you even old enough to be in a bar?'

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Coxie's shoulders shake in silent laughter. She heard Rizzo and Silky both laugh; one of them snorted into their glass.

OC glared at her as he picked up a pen that was lying on the table.

'Oh, I like her.' Silky laughed.

Terri shifted her gaze from OC to Silky, then felt her cheeks heat up as she gave a half grin. She looked down at the table. When she looked back up after another moment, she saw OC glaring daggers at her.

'Sorry, but you set yourself up for that one.' She said softly.

'Don't apologize to him, Terri. He has no sense of humor.' Rizzo told her.

'Well, I don't want to be in a, uh, stint with any of you players. I'll have to see you all for the next seven months. The last thing I need is someone plotting to hit me in the back of the head with a puck.' Terri defended, glancing at Rizzo briefly.

The boys laughed again. Even OC grinned a little, shaking his head. This made Terri feel a little better; she slid in the chair so she was sitting comfortably, in the middle of the seat instead of on the edge.

The boys filled up their glasses (including Terri's), then picked up their pens as they continued with their tests.

After watching the boys for a few minutes, she took another look around the bar before she looked back at the four boys at the table with her.

'What are these tests about, anyway?' She asked, looking over Coxie's arm at the test he was working on.

'They seem like psychology tests.' OC answered.

Terri was a little surprised that he answered her, but she nodded and read one of the questions.

'You wanna do mine for me?' Coxie asked, noticing that she was hovering.

The other three looked up at her, waiting for her answer, hoping that maybe she would agree...or at least help them.

Terri laughed, then sat back in her chair. 'Nope. That's for you to do, not me. I'm not the one trying to play in the Olympics.'

Coxie shrugged. 'It was worth a shot.'

Terri rose her eyebrows with a shrug as she took a drink. She then looked around the bar, noticing that the other table of hockey players tests (where she saw Buzzy, the player she ran into before the try-out) were working on their tests and getting a little rowdy...then again, most of the bar was getting rowdy at that time. Her attention was brought back to the table when Silky spoke up.

'Seventy-one. "You get stopped by a policeman, but you're not at fault. Do you state your disagreement right away?"' He flipped through the packet. 'He's got three hundred of these things.'

'It's just a test, Silky. You've taken one or two before.' Rizzo said, glancing up from his own test.

'Not to play hockey, I haven't.' Silky replied, looking over at Rizzo.

Terri brought her glass up to take a drink.

'Can you even read, Silky?' Coxie asked.

Terri spit her beer back in her glass (luckily, it wasn't much) as the others let out a chuckle, also.

'I try.' Silky responded, making Terri laugh a little more.

* * *


	6. Complaining of 76

**A/N:**_ Happy New Year! Hope everyone's holidays were awesome!_

_I've decided to change from the single quotation mark to the double quotation marks for all dialog. The single ones were starting to annoy me and I'm so used to double ones that I don't even know why I went with single. Just thought I'd let you all know. Oh, and sorry for such a long update._

* * *

"Hey, Rizzo!" The five heard from the doorway. They all looked towards the voice to see another player raise his hand in greeting to Rizzo. "What's going on?"

"Mac." Rizzo said, quietly, raising his own hand quickly.

Taking a quick look back at Rizzo, Terri saw that his greeting was half-hearted.

Mac then continued on over to the other table containing players and sat with them. Terri turned back around, again, and looked at the boys.

Rizzo looked down the table to OC. "Easy, big guy."

"Ya know, I don't know how you two can sit in the same room with that clown." OC said, looking like he could use his pen as a dart to throw at Mac.

"Let it go. It's over." Rizzo tried to calm him. "Let it go."

Terri looked between the two, trying to figure out what was going on.

"What's goin' on here?" Coxie asked, just as lost as Terri.

"OC's got a little unfinished business over there." Silky said, taking a quick look over to Mac.

"Not for long, I don't." OC grumbled.

"Hey, what'd I tell you, man?" Rizzo asked a little forcefully. Terri then saw him mouth: 'Let go'.

"McClanahan?" Coxie questioned. "You're not still going on about the '76 playoffs, are you? Come on, OC, that was like, three years ago." He leaned back in his chair, looking like he couldn't believe OC's grudge.

"You know what, Coxie, lemme ask you a question. Why'd you want to play college hockey?" OC asked.

"Isn't it obvious? For the girls." Coxie answered, lifting his glass.

Terri snorted very unladylike and rolled her eyes. Rizzo glanced over at her as he and Silky sniggered a little at Coxie's answer.

"I'm serious, Coxie. Why'd you wanna play college hockey?" OC was getting a little pissed off.

"'Cause I love to play hockey, all right." Coxie said, looking around the table. "I wanna go to the NHL just like everybody does."

"Not everybody." Terri mumbled into her glass as she lifted it to her lips.

"Well, I wanted to win a National Championship. That pansy over there cheap-shots me. I get tossed out of the game. He steals the ring right of my finger? How would you feel?" OC was definitely pissed now.

"Everyone was throwing cheap shots that night." Rizzo said, trying to keep OC calm.

Terri heard what happened between McClanahan and OC; her brothers went to watch the final playoff series back then. Teri would have gone herself, but the squirt team that she helped coach then was involved in a tournament and she was, unfortunately, unable to go with her brothers.

"Ya know, Rizzo. It's funny you say that. 'Cause I was just wondering what side you're on." OC said, leaning forward in his chair.

"I'm on your side." Rizzo defended, looking at Terri quickly.

"You know, it really seems that way." OC leaned back again, tossing his pen to the table, making it bounce over to Silky.

"All right, just relax, okay? Jeez." Coxie said, looking at OC.

"I'm not doing this right now." OC mumbled, shoving the test away from him. "I'm outta here." He said, standing up, taking the test with him, and beginning to walk away.

"Where you going?" Rizzo asked him.

OC stopped and looked back at Rizzo. "To my room. Is that all right with you? Mother?" He then walked away and out of the bar.

"Just let him go." Silky said to Rizzo without turning his head.

"Well, no wonder the guy gets so many penalty minutes, right?" Coxie said, looking up.

"He gets a little carried away sometimes." Silky said, softly.

"Sometimes?" Terri asked with an unbelieving scoff. "From what I've heard, it seems like a regular occurrence. Like PMS or something."

Coxie smiled slightly as Silky and Rizzo shook their heads, grinning slightly.

"What do you mean? 'From what you've heard'?" Silky asked, looking down the table at her.

"My brothers were at that Championship series. They told me what happened, down to every detail; they kept track of everything on a few pieces of paper, including penalty minutes and ice time." She answered.

"Your brothers?" Coxie asked, turning his head to her.

"Yeah. Tom, who was a goalie for Michigan State, class of 1973, and Jake, who was a goalie for Penn State University, class of 1976." She answered, downing the beer that was left in her glass.

"Why weren't you there with them?" Rizzo asked, glad for a change of subject, away from OC's anger management issues.

"I was coaching squirts at the time. We had a tournament and I couldn't get away." She said. "I would have loved to have been there, though." She added, softly, looking down at the empty glass.

Rizzo smirked as he looked across the table at Terri. "Who would you have cheered for?" he asked her.

Both Silky and Coxie looked over at her.

"I would have stayed neutral. Cheered for both...or not cheered at all, but I'm not that heartless." She answered, grinning slightly.

"Are you just saying that so we won't have to hit pucks at the back of your head?" Silky asked, grinning.

Terri laughed. "No, I'm not just saying that. That's what I actually would have done."

Coxie and Silky grinned as they went back to work on their tests. Rizzo reached across Silky and grabbed the pitcher of beer, which was half-empty now. He topped off his glass, then filled Terri's a little more than halfway.

"Thanks." She said, softly, glancing up at him with a small smile.

Rizzo smiled back with a nod before setting the pitcher back down in the middle of the four and turning back to his own test.

Silky looked up as Terri said 'thanks' and saw the look on her face. He then shifted his gaze to Rizzo and saw an almost identical look. Biting his lips to keep from all-out smiling, he looked back down at his test.

Terri looked around her as the boys continued on their tests. The bar was getting pretty full and it was making her slightly claustrophobic; she wasn't normally claustrophobic, but when there were lots of people around in an enclosed space, she would start to panic and look for an exit.

Looking back at the boys, she saw that they were too engrossed in their tests to notice anything going on around them. She slid her chair back, ready to stand up. The boys looked at her.

"I better get going." She said, looking for the closest exit.

"You all right?" Rizzo asked, seeing the panicked look on her face.

"I, uh..." She started, "I get a little claustrophobic around a lot of people." She mumbled starting to rise from her seat.

Silky looked around him. "Yeah, it is getting really crowded in here." He said.

Terri nodded. "I'll see you guys later." She said, then headed to the exit she saw before, which happened to be the same door she came through to get in.

The three boys watched her go. Coxie turned back around and looked back at the other two.

"Is it a good idea for her to be walking back alone?" He asked Rizzo and Silky.

"Probably not. You two go with her. I'll pay for the beer and catch up to all of you." Rizzo offered, gathering his test and pen.

"No, I got it." Silky said.

Rizzo paused and looked at his friend. "Silky, you never offer to pay."

"I'm feeling generous tonight." He answered. "Besides, you and Coxie paid for the first two pitchers."

Rizzo gave Silky a strange look, then looked over at Coxie, who shrugged. He figured it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so he decided to take it.

"All right, just don't take to long." Rizzo finally gave in.

Silky nodded, then shooed them away as he gathered his own test, rolling it up and sticking it in his back pocket, and sticking the pen in his pocket as well. He then took care of the beer. Rizzo and Coxie picked up their tests and pens, then quickly made their way out the door they saw Terri walk out of moments previous.

Terri walked out of the bar, then walked quickly to the corner of the building. Leaning against the wall, she took deep breaths, trying to regain control of the panic that had momentarily swept over her. After several seconds, she pushed herself off the wall and slowly made her way back to the hotel. When she heard running footsteps from behind her, she stepped off to the side to let them pass. Turning slightly to see if she was far enough out of their way, she stopped, seeing that it was Rizzo and Coxie.

"What are you guys doing?" She asked as they slowed down when they neared her.

"Coxie didn't think it was such a good idea for you to walk back alone." Rizzo said, pointing towards Coxie.

Terri grinned slightly, glancing at him before looking down to the sidewalk.

"You agreed with me." Coxie shot back.

Rizzo just rolled his eyes and took Terri's elbow, turning her back towards the hotel.

Terri looked down at where his hand was on her elbow, then glanced up at him as they started walking. He didn't seem to realize or notice that after they started walking, he had yet to let go. And Terri really didn't mind.

They had taken no more than ten steps when another set of running feet came up behind them. The three stopped and turned, Rizzo let go of Terri's elbow at that point, seeing Silky come running up to them.

"Where's the fire?" Terri asked, grinning slightly.

"Didn't want you guys to get too far ahead of me." He answered, stepping to the other side of Coxie.

She nodded and the four continued back to the hotel, making small talk the whole way back. Mostly talking about hockey, since they _were_ hockey players.

When they got back to the hotel and walked into the lobby, they saw Craig Patrick sitting in one of the chairs, reading a newspaper. He looked up when the door opened.

"Hey guys." He waved them over with his hand.

Terri walked over with the boys, even though Craig said 'guys'. She figured it might be something important.

"Hey Coach. What's up?" Rizzo asked.

"We leave tomorrow morning at eleven o'clock." Craig answered.

"Leave? Already?" Terri questioned from behind Silky.

"Yeah. Herb wants to get back and start training as soon as possible." Craig said, tilting his head to be able to see her around Silk.

"Well, damn. I gotta come up with some drills." She said more to herself, then anyone.

"So," Craig continued, "be down here with all your things by quarter to eleven. If you're not here when the bus is ready to leave, you get left behind and you're on your own to get to the U...Herb's orders."

Terri rose an eyebrow. She had heard that Herb was an...unorthodox type of coach. She wondered just how odd his tactics could get.

The boys nodded and said their good-nights to Craig, then headed towards the elevator. Terri stayed behind for another moment. "What about rental cars?" She asked Craig.

"Herb said he'd take care of that. Just make sure you have everything out of it by the morning." Craig replied.

"Okay, no problem. See you in the morning, then." Terri said, then also walked over to the elevator, slightly shocked to see the three boys waiting for her. "You didn't have to wait for me." She said, glancing at each of them.

"We figured that since we all walked this far, we might as well go the whole way to our rooms." Silky replied.

Terri half grinned as Coxie hit the button for the elevator. Terri watched the lights above the doors as the elevator came to them from the top floor. When it came, the four of them got in.

"What floor?" Silky asked, since he was next to the buttons. He and Rizzo went to hit the button for the third floor, but Silky beat him too it, making Rizzo shrug slightly.

"Two.''Coxie said.

"I'm on three." Terri put in, shrugging.

"We are, too." Silky said.

Terri rolled her eyes. "I couldn't guess, since you hit the button for it." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Silky shook his head. The elevator went _ding_, then the doors opened to the second floor. Coxie stepped out.

"See you in the morning." He said to the remaining three with a small wave.

The three waved back just as the doors were closing. At the last second, they saw Coxie head off to the right of the elevator.

The elevator moved, again, taking them to the next floor. When they reached it, they stepped out, then paused.

"Well, I'm down that way. So have a good rest of the night...try not to raid the all the mini-bars on the floor." Terri said, pointing to the left towards her room, then grinned in Silky's direction when she mentioned the mini-bars.

Silky gave her a mock-offended look, then both he and Rizzo started laughing. "Have a good night, Terri." Silky said when his laughter subsided.

"Thanks." Terri replied. "Oh, and check on OC. Make sure he's cooled down." She added, then turned and walked to her room near the end of the hall.

Silky and Rizzo watched Terri walk away from them for a moment, then turned to each other, and headed towards their own room. They were put in the same room, while OC was with Jim Craig, and they were right next door to Rizzo and Silky.

When they reached their room, Silky took the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

"I'm gonna check on OC." Rizzo said, starting to walk the few feet to the next room.

Silky nodded, then when Rizzo's back was turned, he grinned again. He had a feeling he wasn't going to go against what Terri suggested; back in the bar, when he caught them grinning at each other, he saw something in his friend's gaze that he hadn't seen before.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Well, what do you think? Too corny? How about leaving a review and letting me know..._


	7. Travel Time

**A/N: **_HEY-O! I'm back! I think I finally figured out where I'm going with this...it only took me, what? A year, plus? Yikes! I apologize. Really I do. I got back into this when I was on vacation (in Jamaica, of all places) when 'Miracle' came on TV. When I got home, I watched it a good three times before I started writing again._

_I've decided that I'm going more movie canon than history canon...because I just can't seem to find all the information I want/need. Just an FYI._

_Anywho, on with this very long chapter! Enjoy!_

* * *

As Terri walked into her room, she realized that she had to go back down to the parking lot and get her equipment out of her rental car. Sighing, she grabbed the car keys, which were on the nightstand, then grabbed her room key. She left the room again, locking the door behind her, and headed to the stairs. Hopping down the stairs, Terri made it to the lobby, and quickly moved through it and out the doors. She jogged to the car and opened the trunk. Taking her skates, hockey gloves, stick, and pucks out, she set them on the ground. Closing the trunk, she then walked to the driver's side to get all of her garbage out of the car, shoving it in her pockets. After closing and locking the door, she picked up her equipment, and headed back into the hotel. She took the elevator back up to her floor.

While walking down the hall, she dropped her gloves, so she just kicked them to her door, afraid that if she bet down to pick them up, she'd drop something else. At her door, she unlocked, opened, and walked through it, closing it behind her. She left all of the hockey equipment by the door, then walked around the small room to gather up all of her belongings. After she finished collecting and packing her things, Terri took a quick shower knowing that she would use every last minute in the morning dedicating it to sleep. Once out of the shower, she laid out her clothes for the next day, took one last look around the room to make sure she had everything packed, then jumped into bed. She fell asleep within minutes.

The next morning, Terri woke up earlier than she expected. She had an hour to get ready and check out of her room. When she was ready, she took a final sweep of the room, then left, locking the door behind her. She headed to the elevator and took it down to the lobby. Herb and Craig were already there, lounging in armchairs. She walked over to them.

"Good morning." She greeted, setting her stuff down next to an unoccupied chair.

"Morning." They simultaneously replied.

Feeling just a little awkward with nothing more to say, she went over to the counter and handed over her room key. When that was taken care of, she walked back over to her chair and plopped down. Since both Herb and Craig were reading a newspaper, she didn't want to disturb them, so she took her notepad out of her pocket and started coming up with drills for her goalies.

Every so often she would look up and glance around, trying to get another idea and to observe what was going on around her. She began to notice that the boys started to trickle into the lobby. Very sluggishly in some cases, in others, they were chipper and excited. She would grin, then look back down to her notepad.

When ten thirty rolled around, Herb folded up his newspaper and stuck it in a side pocket of his bag. He stood up and immediately got everyone's attention.

"Alright. Since most of you are here, if you have a rental car, bring me your keys and we'll get everything settled. If you don't have a rental, just relax for another few minutes." He said, then started to walk towards the concierge desk so he would have more room.

Terri stood up and followed the small mass of boys over to Herb. She was still trying to figure out one of her drills, so she was a little lost in her thoughts and not really paying attention to anything around her. She didn't notice Rizzo step up next to her when she stood still.

"You alright?" he asked her, frowning slightly at the look on her face.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." She said and turned to glance at him with a shy smile before quickly looking away.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod. Then, not wanting to have an awkward silence, Terri continued.

"How's OC doing?" She asked softly.

"OC? He's fine. He just needed some time away from others." He replied.

Terri nodded this time. Before they could continue (or if they were going to continue) with a conversation, Herb motioned Rizzo over to the counter. He glanced at Terri with a small smile, then walked away.

Terri watched him walk, then shifted her eyes over to Herb when she felt his eyes on her. She looked away from him quickly and out of the window to her right. She saw the bus pull up to the curb.

Terri was the last of the group to hand over her keys (before Herb and Craig). Once her rental status was taken care of, she walked back over to her chair and sat back down. She perused the room, subtly watching everyone around her. She noticed how the boys were grouped: the Minnesota boys in one group, the Massachusetts boys in another, a group Terri couldn't seem to name a place to, and another group playing cards. She grinned as she watched the over-exaggerated facial expressions of one of the card-playing boys, whose name she unfortunately didn't know yet.

Before long, Herb came back over to the group.

"Alright. On the bus. Equipment bags below, personal bags up with you." He spoke quickly, then turned and headed out to the bus.

Slowly, the boys gathered their bags and headed out. Terri stayed in her chair and waited for the last player to head out, bringing up the rear. Craig unconsciously did the same. When the last group of boys started heading out (the Massachusetts boys), Craig and Terri stood from their chairs, picked up their bags, and followed them out.

On the way out, Terri started thinking of the seating arrangement on the bus. She didn't want to end up sitting next to one of the boys and have to engage in a very awkward, and probably one-sided, conversation with him. But she also didn't feel that sitting next to Herb or Craig would soothe her nerves either.

When she got to the bus, she handed her hockey stick and small equipment bag to the bus driver to load onto the bottom of the bus. When she brought her hand back, she noticed it was shaking slightly. She could feel her heartbeat quicken, if only a little bit. She was nervous. Scared, just a tad.

She turned towards the front of the bus and noticed Herb and Craig were standing next to the door. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to them to get on the bus. Herb stopped her.

"Terri, the last row of seats is empty. I'd like you to sit back there to make sure no fights or problems arise. These boys are just looking for a time and a place." He said.

Terri glanced at Craig briefly before nodding her head with a sigh.

"Sure. No problem." She forced a small smile, then climbed the stairs to the bus.

Good thing she liked the back of the bus.

Keeping her eyes on the last row of seats, she shifted her personal bag in front of her and walked quickly down the aisle, not making eye contact with any of the players. Once at the seats, she tossed her bag down, then fell onto the seat, releasing a breath of air. Her row of seats took up the entire width of the bus, so she was able to spread out. She sat towards the middle of the left side so she could watch Herb and Craig get on the bus and take a head count before sitting down.

Once the bus driver got on the bus, they started the drive to the airport. It would be a relatively short drive, but it was still long enough for Terri. She sat in the middle of her row of seats, crossed her arms over her chest, and slumped into the seat as she stared down the aisle to the front window.

Soon after they exited the hotel parking lot, the player in the row in front of her to her right turned in his seat to face her. He was the same boy playing cards with the over-exaggerated facial expressions.

"Hey, you're the goalie coach right?" He asked.

"Yes. Why?" She answered.

"Just wanted to introduce myself." He paused as he held his hand out. "I'm Bah Harrington."

"'Bah'?" Terri asked, shaking his hand quickly.

"It's John, actually, but when I was born, my brother, who wasn't even a year old, couldn't say 'baby' and it came out 'bah'...it stuck." He explained.

"Oh. And here I was thinking you had some sort of sheep fetish." Terri replied with a small smirk.

Bah stared at her for a moment before laughing. "No, no sheep fetishes. I swear." He said through his laughter.

"Well, nice to meet you, Bah. I'm Terri. No nickname for me." She said, nodding.

The player across the aisle from Bah turned to them as well. Terri recognized him.

"Hi, Terri. You forget to tell me you were coaching." He said.

"Hey, Buzz. I knew you weren't a goalie, so I didn't think it necessary to tell you." She answered, ducking her head. "Congrats on making the first cut, by the way."

Buzz nodded his head with a quiet 'thanks'.

The three of them quietly conversed on the way to the airport. At one point, Terri looked up towards the front of the bus to see where they were and noticed that three rows up Rizzo was looking towards her with a grin. She caught his eye briefly, then looked down to her lap trying to hold back a smile and willing her cheeks not to turn red. When she next looked up, Rizzo was facing forwards again. Bah and Buzz didn't notice her distraction.

When they reached the airport, the bus took them to a secluded portion of terminals that were reserved for charter flights. The bus stopped next to a silver charter plane. They all disembarked from the bus, starting at the front, leaving Terri to be the last one off. She didn't mind at all. Once off, she slung her personal bag onto her shoulder, then went over to pick up her stick and equipment bag, which had been set to the side so no one would trip over it.

Once the bus was cleared of all belongings, the group of players followed Herb, en masse, to the charter plane. Herb spoke to one pilot while the other helped stash all of the hockey bags into the cargo hold. When they were ready, the pilots told them to board. Once again, Terri stood off to the side with Craig so they were the last ones to board. Herb walked over to them as they watched the boys get on the plane.

"Terri, could you sit at the back of the plane? To, you know, keep an eye on things?" Herb asked, standing next to her.

"Uh, no, Herb. I don't think I can." She replied, not looking at him.

"What?"

"I...I'm...uh, not the best flyer and I'd really feel better if I were closer to the front."

"Oh...okay." Herb muttered, then looked at Craig. "Craig, would you mind sitting in the back?"

"Sure, not a problem." Craig answered, then started to board the plane after the last player got on.

Herb looked back at Terri. "Are you going to be alright? I mean, you don't have to be sedated or anything, right?" He asked.

"No, no sedation. I'll be okay...I'll just look like I'm gonna pass out or something." She replied, trying to smile up at him, but failing.

Herb nodded, then motioned towards the plane. He boarded first, then waited near his seat for Terri to get on. She slowly made her way onto the plane, taking deep breaths to prevent herself from passing out or hyperventilating. When she was on, she looked to Herb for further instructions...more specifically, where she was to sit. He pointed to the row of seats one row behind his on the other side of the plane. Terri nodded, then flopped into the seat closest to the window. She shoved her bag under the seat in front of her, then buckled quickly before grabbing the armrests in a death grip even though the plane wasn't even close to moving yet. When the plane started taxiing out to the runway, Terri felt herself shut her eyes and grip the armrests even tighter in a white-knuckled grip. As the plane was picking up speed for take-off, Terri's body tensed and she gritted her teeth, keeping her eyes firmly closed. In the air, Terri opened her eyes and unclenched her jaw, but did not give up her grip on the armrests. She did not let go of the armrests for even a moment until they touched ground in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Landings she could handle; take-offs and actual flying were rough for her.

When the plane finally stopped at a terminal, Terri let go of the armrests and looked up just in time to see Herb look back to her.

"Alright?" He asked, leaning closer.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She replied with a small smile.

Herb nodded, then unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, turning to face the boys.

"Get your things and wait inside the terminal. Our bus might not be here yet." He said, then picked up his bag and de-boarded the plane.

Terri shakily unbuckled her seatbelt and reached down to grab her own bag, setting it on the seat next to her. She noticed the boys started getting off, but she ignored them, taking her time and waiting to be one of the last ones off.

Silky, as he was exiting the plane, noticed that Terri was still in her seat with a hand over her eyes. He tapped Rizzo on the shoulder and pointed over to her.

"Think she needs help?" He asked his friend.

"Dunno." Rizzo replied, walking down the aisle to the row in front of Terri. He stepped into the row, along with Silky, and let some other players go past them.

"Hey, Terri," Silky started, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." She said, letting her hand fall away from her eyes and looking up at Silky and Rizzo with slight surprise. "I just don't really like flying."

They both nodded. A moment passed before Silky reached down and picked up her bag.

"Come on." He said with a grin. "I'll get your bag and Rizzo will help you."

Terri looked up at him with wide eyes. "Oh. No. I really don't think that's necessary. I can get my own bag and handle myself." She protested.

Rizzo turned his own wide eyes to Silky and leaned closer to him. "What are you doing, _Dave_?" He asked through gritted teeth and stressing Silky's first name.

"Just helping out a coach, _Mike_." Silky replied, also stressing the first name.

Silky then turned and de-boarded the plane, Terri's bag (and his own) in tow.

Rizzo turned back to Terri. "Sorry about that. I really don't know what's gotten into him." He apologized for his teammate.

"It's okay. I guess...I just hope it doesn't become a habit." Terri said.

"Yeah, me too." Rizzo mumbled, then stepped into the aisle after Craig passed. "Let's go. I don't think Herb'll be too happy if we miss the bus."

Terri nodded, then stood and followed Rizzo out of the plane. Once on solid ground again, Terri took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She and Rizzo went over to grab their equipment bags, then hurried into the terminal to catch up with the rest of the team. Terri sought out Silky to get her bag back. Feeling just a little pissed off and bold, she snagged her bag out of his hand.

"Don't try to pull something like that again...whatever you were trying to do." She growled. "If I need help, I'll ask for it."

She then turned and headed over to where Herb and Craig were standing in front of the players, getting information on the bus that would take them to the University of Minnesota where the team would be staying throughout training. Huffing, she stared ahead, watching the people and vehicles go by.

Ten minutes later, their bus pulled up to curb. Once again, equipment bags were stored below and personal bag were taken on with the players. Terri and Craig watched from the side as Herb took a head count as the boys stepped onto the bus.

Once the bottom was closed up, Terri and Craig walked over to Herb.

"Am I in the back again?" Terri asked a little more tersely than she wanted to. She was still a bit mad at Silky.

"If you don't mind." Herb replied.

Terri shook her head, then boarded the bus and walked to the back, where she threw her bag onto the seat, then sat heavily in the middle of the row.

They waited for the bus driver to start the bus, then they headed out of the airport and onto the highway. The ride was about twenty minutes long and Terri didn't feel like talking to anyone...but she was starting to no longer feel angry towards Silky. He was just trying to help her out. Her insecurities didn't allow for his help.

The bus stopped in front of a dorm building. Herb stood up and turned to the team.

"You can get off the bus, but don't wander. I need to get some information, then the rest of the day is yours, gentlemen." He said, then stepped off of the bus to meet with the person in charge of the team's lodgings.

Almost everyone got off of the bus to stretch their legs; it was a long time to be sitting. The bus driver unloaded the bottom of the bus and the boys collected their gear, then milled around the bus in their little self-designated groups.

Terri grabbed her equipment bag and stick, then stood next to Craig near the doors to the bus. They both watched the boys socialize as they waited for Herb to return. When he did, he had a list of the boys' names and a room number for where they'd be staying.

"Terri, you're going to be on the first floor in the same building as the boys. Hope you don't mind." Herb said, looking over the list.

"Nah, it's okay." She replied.

Herb nodded then called the boys around him. "Listen up. I have your room assignments. Two to a room. If you don't like your roommate, well...that's tough. Deal with it. Doc, who caught an earlier flight, has your keys inside the building." He then continued to read off the list of last names and their assigned rooms.

Terri listened carefully for Jim and Steve's room numbers...just in case she had to pay them a visit or talk to them about a drill. When she heard their rooms, she took out her notepad and scribbled them into it.

When Herb was finished reading off the names, he lowered the list and looked up at the players formed around him.

"We take the ice at nine AM at Bloomington arena. Don't know where it is? Make friends with someone who does. Anyone who's late will be running laps around the building." He paused then to make sure the information sunk in. Terri inwardly groaned. Any time before ten AM was not a friend in her books. "That's it for today, gentlemen. Get some rest." He started to turn away.

"Uh, Herb?" Terri stopped him.

"Yeah."

"Which, uh, which room am I actually in?" She asked, looking down at her feet.

"Oh, sorry." He lifted the list to look over it again. "You're in room twelve. I think it's a corner room with it's own bathroom."

"Okay. Thanks." She mumbled, then mumbled a 'see you tomorrow' to Herb and Craig before following the boys into the dorm, making sure she was the last one in.

She knew Herb lived in the area, so he would probably be heading home. Craig probably had an apartment somewhere off campus since he wasn't from Minnesota. And she wasn't sure where Doc was from, but if she had to guess, he was probably from the area as well.

When Terri walked into the building's main entrance, Doc handed her her dorm room key and gave her quick directions on how to get there. He then told her to get some sleep ("'cause you look like you need it") and that he'd see her in the morning. She thanked him, took her key and her bags, and headed down the hall the way Doc told her to go. When she reached her room, she realized how far away her door was from the next one over. Maybe Herb was right and she did get her own bathroom. It had been a few years since she last slept in a college dorm room and she was not looking forward to a communal bathroom.

Opening the door, she immediately saw another door and went to it. Opening that door, she found her bathroom, clean and ready for use. With a relieved sigh, she closed the main door and tossed her bags onto her bed. She set her stick against the wall next to the door and the light switch, then went back and sat on the edge of the bed. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was only close to three o'clock. Groaning, she fell back onto her bed, then brought her feet up. She kicked off her shoes, then nudged her bags off the bed; it was a short drop, so nothing would get broken.

Within a few minutes, Terri was sleeping soundly.

Doc was right: she really did need sleep.

* * *

**A/N:**_ There you have it! I'm back in business!_

_Lemme know what you think. I know there wasn't a lot of interaction in this chapter, but there will be plenty in the next!...And it won't take me a year to get that one out. :-P_


	8. Author's Note 2 sorry

**Author's Note (important):**

I'm really sorry to have to do this, but I have to put a halt on my stories for a while...

On November 21, 2011, we had to put my dog of fifteen years (and four months) to sleep. :'-( She was the love of my life; she was _MY_ dog.

This week has been extremely rough for me and my family. This Thanksgiving was the first that we really knew she was gone...she's normally under the table looking for scraps of turkey, but she wasn't there this year. I almost went to pick a piece of turkey off my plate and lower it under the table, but stopped myself and almost started crying. Even right now it's six in the morning and I haven't slept at all...every time I close my eyes, I see her and start crying. I'm not sleeping tonight. I've cried myself to sleep every night since she passed.

I've tried to write something for any of the stories I have going, but anything I write is shitty. I'm finding it very hard to write romance when my heart has a large chunk taken out of it. I'm depressed and sad.

For those of you [assholes] who're thinking: 'It's just a dog'...fuck you! She was a member of this family and her passing is and will be hard; especially with the upcoming holiday(s).

So, again, I'm sorry, but I can't write right now. I'm not sure when I'll be able to again...maybe in the new year, maybe sooner. I'll keep working and writing down notes, but for now everything is on hold.

(Sorry if you get two of these...I'm an idiot and still type 2010 when I mean 2011...and I'm a bit sleepy/not with it...)


	9. Foosball Folly

**A/N:**_ Holy hell! I'm back with another (actual) chapter! I really am sorry it took so long. I actually wanted to have this up like 2 weeks ago, but those past 2 weeks were extremely busy...AKA hockey tournaments; one I played in and we won the championship(!) and the other I was a scorekeeper. All for charity: Hockey Fights MS. Look it up._

_So now that my muse is slowly coming out of hiding, I should have more than one update a year for y'all. I've also come to the conclusion that if I do shorter chapters and just stick to the movie, with a bunch of extra scenes thrown in, I might be able to finish this. LOL.  
_

_To the four of you that left me reviews to keep going, this one's for you: Hopefully13, SeaKat01, Snowluvr410, and fluffernutter21! Thank you!_

* * *

A constant knocking on the door awoke Terri from her nap. When she regained consciousness, she took a moment to remember where she was. Finally realizing she was in a dorm at the U, she got up from the bed with a grunt. More knocking after a small pause made Terri growl softly.

"Alright, alright, gimme a second." She called towards the door.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she scrubbed her face with a hand, then got up. She walked to the door with a yawn and opened it just enough to see who was on the other side.

"Hi, Terri." Doc said softly. "Herb wants to see you in the rec room."

"Oh." Terri's eyes widened a bit. "Uh, okay."

Turning, she grabbed the room key from where she laid it on the bed, then left the room, locking the door behind her. She turned to Doc with an uncertain nod.

"You're not in trouble." Doc clarified with a grin.

Terri tried to smile back. When Doc turned to walk down the hall, she let out a relived sigh; she followed Doc to the recreation room. Doc must have known she didn't know where to go, so he led the way...or Herb needed to speak to him, too.

When they turned a corner, the room in front of them opened up into a large lounge. A group of couches were off in a corner on the left, another group of big, plushy chairs in the middle, and some gaming tables (foosball, air hockey, and billiards) to the right. A television was set onto the wall behind the group of chairs. There were a few boys lounging and a few more playing games.

Herb was sitting in one of the chairs with papers and a briefcase spread out on a coffee table in front of him. Doc and Terri approached him and he looked up.

"Have a seat." He motioned to the chair next to him.

Terri glanced at Doc, thinking that Herb meant for him to sit, but Doc pointed to the chair, silently telling her to sit. Bowing her head slightly, she stepped forward and sat on the edge of the chair. She looked at Herb, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Doc walk out of the rec room.

Herb eventually held out a set of keys to her. She looked from the keys to Herb's face before holding out her hand.

"Your rental car." Herb said, dropping the keys into her hand.

Terri made a small 'O' with her mouth.

"I just need you to sign the paper for it." Herb slid a paper across the coffee table and handed her a pen.

Terri skimmed over the paper, trying to figure out what kind of car she'd be driving. When she found the make, model, and color, she skimmed more to know what she was signing. Satisfied, she signed her name on the line at the bottom of the page and slid it back to Herb; she also held out the pen. He picked up the paper and put it in his briefcase, then took the pen back with a small smile.

"Alright. That's settled." He said more to himself than to her as he cleaned up the rest of his papers and shoved them in his briefcase. He then turned to her as he stood up. "See you in the morning."

Terri nodded and watched Herb walk out of the rec room. When he was gone, she leaned back into the chair and sighed. She shoved the car keys into her pocket.

She sat there for a few more minutes before even deciding if she wanted to get up and go back to her room for some more sleep.

"Hey Terri!"

Looking up to where she heard her name being called from, she saw Silky looking towards her...along with Jim Craig and Rizzo. Silky waved his hand for her to come over to them gathered around the foosball table.

With an inward groan and nervous butterflies in her stomach, she got up out of the chair and slowly made her way towards the boys.

"We could use another player." Silky pointed to the foosball table.

"Umm..." Terri looked skeptically at the table.

"Come on." Silky pleaded. "Forwards versus goalies!" He said with a large smile.

She looked from Silky to Rizzo to Jim before sighing. "Fine." She mumbled.

The three boys gave her wide smiles.

Terri stepped to the side of the table that Jim was standing on. Jim held out his hand.

"We haven't officially met yet." He said in his thick Bostonian accent.

Terri wanted to roll her eyes and say 'duh', but refrained. She held out her hand instead.

"Terri Jacobs. Your coach." She said softly, shaking his hand.

"Jimmy Craig. Your pupil." He replied with a grin.

Terri let out a small laugh. Silky and Rizzo joined in.

"Alright, now that we're all acquainted, can we get on with this game?" Silky asked with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah." Jimmy said letting go of Terri's hand and turning towards the table. "You want to be defense or offense?" He asked her.

"I...uh...I've never...actually played before." She said softly, embarrassed.

"Okay. No problem. Play offense. I think it's easier." Jimmy said, switching places with her.

Terri nodded and placed her hands on the two handles closest to her. She was looking down into the table, while watching Jimmy out of the corner of her eye as he picked up the ball. Before he sent the ball into the table, Terri glanced up to see who was across from her.

She met Rizzo's eyes for a moment before looking away quickly and back down to the table as Jimmy put the ball in play.

Now knowing that she had never played before, the boys went easy on her in the first game. Once she started to get the hang of it, by the end of the second game, the next few games became more competitive. Silky tried to place money on one game, but Terri, Jimmy, and Rizzo all said that it would be a stupid idea...at least that day. They agreed that maybe some time in the future, they would bet.

Terri did call a short break so she could call home...to tell her parents and brothers that initial try-outs were over and she was safe in Minnesota, preparing for practices and more eliminations. They told her how proud they were and her brothers begged for her to send them tickets to at least one of the Olympic Games. Smiling, she said she would try. When she hung up, she returned to the foosball table and the four continued with their games.

Around nine o'clock, and after many games, Terri started yawning. They were in the middle of a game.

"Are we boring you now?" Rizzo asked with a grin, noticing Terri yawn. He kept his eyes on the table, though.

"No." She answered, not looking away from the ball and feeling her cheeks heat up a little bit. "Just still beat from the flight. After this game, I'm calling it quits for the night."

"Aww, you sure?" Silky asked as he turned the handle for his offenders. "Actually, after your white-knuckled ride, I guess you could use the rest."

Terri stopped playing and glared up at Silky. "Not the best way to get on my good side." She grumbled.

She saw Rizzo take one of his hands off of the handle and punch Silky's shoulder. "Idiot." He growled at his teammate.

"Oww." Silky moaned, rubbing his shoulder. "Sorry. It was just a joke."

"And it was in bad taste." Terri said through clenched teeth. "Don't ever bring it up again."

Feeling incredibly embarrassed at having her biggest fear made fun of, Terri let go of the table's handles and took a few steps back.

"Sorry, Jimmy, looks like you'll have to finish the game yourself. I'm not in the mood to play anymore." She glanced at Jimmy quickly before looking to the floor. "Good night." She turned and, still with her head down, swiftly walked out of the rec room and headed back to her room.

Once back in her room, Terri locked the door then threw both sets of keys onto the nightstand next to the head of the bed. She flopped onto the bed before picking up the alarm clock (also on the nightstand) and setting the alarm for the morning. She then slammed the clock back onto the stand and rubbed a hand over her eyes as she laid on her back. Staring at the ceiling, she thought about her reaction to Silky, thinking maybe she overreacted, but then thought better of it. If someone made fun of something he was afraid of, he probably would have started throwing punches. Sighing, she turned onto her side and kicked off her shoes.

* * *

Back in the rec room, Rizzo glared at Silky. "What the hell, man?" He said.

"What I was just joking." Silky tried to defend himself.

"I don't know all the details here, but addressing someone's fears isn't the best way to joke." Jimmy said.

Silky made a sound that was a cross between a groan and a sigh.

"Go apologize." Rizzo demanded.

"What if I don't? You gonna do it for me?" Silky was getting defensive. "Since you have a crush on her and all."

Rizzo glared at his friend and teammate.

"Whoa. Guys, come on." Jimmy said, seeing that the way the conversation was currently going could turn into a brawl. "Silky, just be a man and go apologize. You clearly hurt her."

Silky stopped glaring at Rizzo when he realized his goalie was right. "Yeah, alright." He said, then left his friends to grovel.

"He could have apologized to you before he left." Jimmy turned to Rizzo after they watched Silky leave.

Rizzo shrugged. "He knows he's right. No need."

"Really?" Jimmy questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Shut up. You owe me a game." Rizzo's cheeks turned slightly pink.

* * *

Just as she was comfortable, there was a knock on Terri's door.

Groaning, she got up and off the bed to answer the knock. She unlocked the door and opened it a crack to see who was there. Seeing a shamefaced Silky standing on the other side, she frowned and started to close the door again.

"Wait, wait, wait." He pleaded, putting his hand on the door to prevent her from closing it. "Please?"

Terri paused and looked at him. "You got a minute." She deadpanned.

"Look, I really am sorry for what I said. I was just joking around and didn't mean it." He said, looking like a lost puppy.

Terri sighed. "I know, but you shouldn't have done it, anyway. If someone made fun at your expense, you'd be throwing punches." She was being brave and feeling awkward about it, but she had to put him in his place. "Next time I won't be as lenient as I was...and Rizzo won't be the only one to punch you." She attempted to grin.

Silky laughed. "Okay. I get it." He brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck. "So we're...okay now?"

Terri smirked. "For now."

Silky smiled wide. "Great. Good night then. See you in the morning."

"Right. Night." Terri replied with a little wave as Silky stepped back and walked back down the hall.

Terri closed and relocked the door. She then went over to her bag and pulled out her pajamas. After showering and changing into her PJs, she climbed into the bed and settled in for the night.

* * *

**A/N:**_ There you have it. Hope it was up to your standards. Next chapter will be the first practice, so stay tuned.  
_

_Please review and all that jazz.  
_


End file.
